1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and in particular to multi-node computers. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for allowing a master node in a multi-node computer to appropriate the resources of another node in the multi-node computer while the other node is in an ACPI S3 Sleep State.
2. Description of the Related Art
In multi-node computers, such as the x-Series® of servers manufactured by International Business Machines Corporation, it is possible to configure two or more physical nodes into a larger logical partition where a single operating system can utilize the resources across all nodes. In this scenario, each individual machine boots up to a common point in Power On Self Test (POST) firmware, and then determines if it should merge with one or more other nodes(s). If one or more systems were to merge, it is typically not possible for the partition to be separated into individual nodes without a complete system reset to POST. Likewise, if each node was to boot as a stand-alone system into an operating system, it is not possible for those systems to logically “join” a partition without rebooting both nodes.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that allows a first node in a multi-node computer to be able to hot join a second node in a logical partition, regardless of the operating system in use by the second node, without having to reboot the entire partition.